Night Over Water is a fictionalized account of the final flight of the Pan American Clipper passenger airplane during the first few days of World War II, early September, 1939.

Follett is careful to state that, though the flight and all of the characters are fictional the plane, a Boeing 314, was real and was nicknamed the "Pan Am Clipper."

This route made the Pan Am Clipper the fastest mode of transatlantic travel at the time — and very appealing to those who wanted to escape from Britain before the start of the war.

The tale begins with several separated threads, telling the individual stories of the people who later all end up in this last flight to New York.

The theme is the importance of recognizing the threat of totalitarianism and also a feminist message of women standing up for themselves[citation needed].